Despite pointing out a few serious glitches in the transit company’s promises (most notably the janky on-board wi-fi signal), 61 percent of nearly 800 readers who took an Oregonian poll said they wanted to try the cheap Interstate 5 express service.

The review also stirred up a few questions about the inter-city Boltbus, which serves the I-5 corridor from Eugene to Seattle.

Q: (Via OregonLive) “Why the difference in price for PDX->SEA vs SEA->PDX? different equipment? WA taxes? or do more people want to come to Portland than want to leave it? :-)”

A: Pricing is based on demand and timing. For example: There were three BoltBuses leaving Portland in the morning that could get football fans to the big Seahawks-versus-49ers game in time for the 3:30 p.m. kickoff. But there was only one headed back after the game. The bus on the way back to Portland had greater demand, which equaled higher prices. Still, someone on that return bus managed to grab a $1 ticket.

Q: I love your commuting column! That said, I think you misspoke in your essay about the BoltBus when you said "It's the Dollar Store of inter-city transit". I think you meant intra-city. Maybe you fell victim to the dread "autocorrect"?

A: No. I meant inter-city, as in interstate and Internet. BoltBus connects the cities. Not inner-city. Intra-city would have referred to a bus system confined within a city. And thanks for reading.

Q: It looks like you are in need of a story. Boltbus review is kind of desperate. I saw on the Velocity channel a story about a scooter made here in portland called "Boxx.” It kind of looks like a suitcase you ride on. I will let you find out the rest of the facts when you interview them for a story.

A: OK, wiseguy. I write about transportation and commuting. It's my job. BoltBus is a fairly new player in Northwest transportation and a lot of readers have asked me about it. Plus, the response to the review has been strong. (See below.) So, it wasn’t a “desperate” at all. I’ll check out Boxx. Keep on truckin’.

Many of readers had already taken a BoltBus and offered their own reviews.

Here are a few from OregonLive:

I took the Bolt bus from Seattle to Portland once a few months ago, but never again, because the seat was so incredibly uncomfortable for me. It seemed like the depth of the seat from front to back was a bit short (maybe where all of that "leg room" comes from), and felt tipped forward. I'm talking "I-want-to-jump-off-the-bus-to-escape-this-torture" discomfort, and I'm only 5'4". Too bad, because the price was great, bus was early, and wifi worked fine for me.

-- Eph Zero

For the price Bolt bus is amazing. I rode it to Eugene and it was great. I didn't have to pay for gas and I could read all the way there. The bus I was on to Eugene had WIFI and outlets to plug in devices, as did the one on my way back.

-- Abbi

I've ridden the Bolt Bus a couple times and I love it! If whatever I'm doing in Eugene or Seattle doesn't require a car I'll do it every time.

-- Blzrjimmy

I have traveled various bus services between New York and Washington, D.C. many times. I will admit that the biggest perk is the savings, but I've had my share of horrific experiences during these 5-6 hour excursions. I once opted to take BoltBus to New York on what was possibly the hottest day of the year. During this trip, the entire bus smelled of the bathroom at the back, and the air conditioning worked very poorly, making for a sweaty and very sticky trip on those black leather seats. The bus operators on this route were also very loud and bossy, and the wireless on the bus was broken, which made the overall experience that much less enjoyable. My fare was something like $16, but I have not been back on BoltBus since. I imagine service between Portland and Seattle must be quite a bit more enjoyable, but given some of the additional travel headaches I've had traveling by bus this winter (missed concerts, frozen highways and six-hour bus delays), I will be doing my best to stick to Amtrak from now on, at least here in the Northeast!

-- nxnw2011

I took the BoltBus several times between Portland and Seattle. I found the WiFi to be very inconsistent (I was better off with the 4G on my phone) and the seats, for a 6'1" guy like myself, were awkward and uncomfortable. Basically, it was stressful and tiring and I was trading the cost of driving and parking in Seattle for being cramped and uncomfortable for the whole trip up there. For a small upgrade in price, I found Amtrak to be - by far - the most pleasant and least stressful way to get from one city to another. BoltBus isn't much faster than the Amtrak Cascades, and on Amtrak I have acres of legroom; I can get up, walk around, enjoy the scenery, and not have to be on I-5. Amtrak is where it's at for me.

-- Burton Simmons

Sac to Portland 17 hrs on Amtrak. Greyhound doesn't pass sanitary laws. Bolt Bus sounds like a great way to go. Let the driver deal with Washington drivers and massive traffic.

-- The_Falcon

I've taken the Megabus (a competitor of Bolt) from Baltimore (actually, White Marsh Mall) to New York City, and it was far cheaper and more convenient than Amtrak, with free parking at that mall. Two additional issues:

Good: Intercity buses are "greener" than rail, less carbon per passenger mile, even for electrically powered trains (look it up). The numbers might work out differently if there were far more trains sharing those resource-intensive rails.

Bad: These bus services are cheaper to operate partly because they aren't paying for an indoor terminal, like planes and trains. So they are fine if the weather is warm and dry, but waiting outside in line is nasty if the weather is nasty. Check the weather forecast and dress for it!

-- Keith Lofstrom

Meanwhile, reader Dan McFarling wishes I had touched on the cold, hard facts (according to him) of how BoltBus does business:

There are many problems with Bolt Bus that are not covered in this article. First, people should understand that Bolt is owned and operated by the Greyhound. Bolt is not trying to provide a system of transportation. It is designed to try to take the cream off the top to reap in profit. Bolt provides no waiting rooms, restrooms (except the smelly one on the bus) or other passenger amenities. They instead expect their customers to use other facilities (like the nearby train stations). Unlike rail, they do NOT pay to acquire, develop, maintain, signalize or police their tax-free right-of-way. Instead, we the taxpayers must cover part or all of the burden they leave behind. Like Walmart, they rely on corporate welfare. On the other hand, rail uses private funds, rather than taxpayer dollars, to cover the cost of acquiring, developing, maintaining and policing their private right-of-ways (the burden doe NOT fall on taxpayers). Yes, Amtrak does receive a subsidy, but it is very small compared with the direct and indirect subsidies received by aviation and road. AND, unlike aviation and road, rail is required to pay taxes on their right-of-way, money that is used to help pay for the very services and facilities that Bolt Bus relies upon. The true cost of transportation is hidden in our transportation system, and consequently, in America, we often make bad choices-- choices that cost us much more than our short-term out-of-pocket costs.

Meanwhile, on Twitter:

@pdxcommute@BoltBus Too lazy, but I will say here in this tweet BoltBus was awesome. Clean, wifi, only one stop twixt PDX/Eug, $13.